I.

Hiccup stared in awe at what lie before him.

The wings of the plane had been dismantled and taken; it was as if a giant had undid them and carried the valuable pieces off with no clues left at all. A few objects like strung bags lay tossed around and the brush had been scattered around as parts of Hiccup's plane had been stolen. He shook his head and made his way over on the metal cauldron rods. It was hard for him to see the empty basket of the balloon left behind and, even more so, the big balloon itself was gone. Anger gripped Hiccup's heart as he punched the twigs and ferns.

"No."

A voice spoke from behind him; it sounded gentle and hesitant when speaking to Hiccup, but it was in a foreign tongue. In fact, it sounded exactly like the language from two nights ago.

"You!" He whirled around with his finger out, Hiccup's tone and eyes blared in wrath.

The gypsy girl held up her bangle - wearing hands, moving her dark purple dress and lilac colored sashes so that she could step away faster. Hiccup let his guard down as he eyed her over; she was darker skinned then any person he had ever seen and looked younger than himself. Her small oval face and deep brown eyes made him back away in hesitation.

"Uh… hi."

She said something short and pleasant in her language.

"Do you… know, uh, what happened to my plane here?" Hiccup turned and pointed.

"Luca." the gypsy held out her hand as if she wanted him to take it.

The Viking grinned and took it generously; he couldn't help himself. "Hiccup."

She giggled before inquiring him in her language.

"Me… uh, I… need… to… find a dragon. He's a Night Fury: Toothless."

"Dragon? Night Fury?" the rest of her native words followed in astonishment… "Viking?"

"Yes."

"Viking…" more words. "dragon."

Hiccup took a step forward and looked Luca in the eyes. "I. Want. To. Find. Dragon." he patted his heart, smiling gently. The look in her brown ones changed from confusion to a gradual understanding. "Hiccup and Toothless find," he gestured around. "Thunder Isles."

"Thunder Isles." Luca shook her head frightfully.

"Please." He took her by the arms, realizing she had kept him safe all night. "Toothless."

"Night Fury: Toothless?"

"Night Fury." Hiccup touched his heart. "Find?"

After a long moment of turning and looking lingeringly at the plane, Luca met his eyes. She spoke in words that sounded like doing this would be complicated. Hiccup nodded 'yes' and gestured at the pack animal grazing close by, showing the young teen that he had an idea.

"Find?" He asked again.

Luca searched his eyes before touching her heart and saying in confirmation. "Find."

II.

"Get it into the pin!" Besnik ordered the men from above the ring. "Open the other ones."

Six sets of bright yellow eyes appeared almost instantly on one side of the enormous oval. There was a metallic screeching and two long, curving metal gates slid open on the other side. The creature within groaned from it's drowsed state and lumbered out into the open, straw strewn area. It's memories were foggy and it's purpose for being there wasn't clear.

"Rummm." the Night Fury mewled and shook it's head. Where was the wild treelands it was used to, where was the great body of water that it drank from? Wasn't there someone that the Night Fury should remember about? The confused reptile ambled out obliviously further.

Before it could react, Dirangos; vicious half - wolf, half- squirrel - like creatures charged out at it. The memory of the creatures arrived much too late and the big Night Fury was taken down by the angered animals. It tried to swat them off with it's enormous tail, roll around and shake them off but they kept coming. Wounds that had been strangely numb until this point reacted in piercing splinters of pain as the dragon's flesh was gouged further. It was pushing, shaking, twisting and turning to try and remove the pack of Dirangos torturing it.

'Fight. Defend. Stop.'

Somehow the Night Fury couldn't bring itself to attack back.

Just as suddenly as they had attacked… they stopped. Their bodies stiffened and all six collapsed in a fall of instant slumber. The dragon rose to it's black paws, panting heavy pants and bleeding from open wounds sliced into it's body. When it looked up, trying to locate any source of help or rescue, a short - haired, brown toned man dressed in long wraps of deep red shawls smiled down condescendingly at it; This was who it wanted.

The Night Fury flared its nostrils.

"We'll break you." He said in a deep, mesmeric voice. "It's only a matter of mutilation."

OoO

"Luca." Emilian said as he past by on his horse. The princess of their family bowed down gracefully with a sweep of her thin, fragile arm. As per usual, the girl was overacting; She was an entertainer at heart, Emilian knew this, but her responsibilities as future queen and ruler of their family depended on her insight and wisdom. "What are you up to now girl?"

She giggled sheepishly and hid behind her coal - black mare. "Giving Mayla exercise."

The fourteen - year - old ducked lower on the side of the large female horse as to obscure his view further, causing the young twenty - two - year - old prince to incline his head so he could see her better. She peered up, widened her eyes and ducked back down. "Emil?"

He sighed roughly at her annoying cuteness. "What is it, Luke?"

"May I go to the ring?"

Emilian's thick brows rose at her inquiry. "Have you finished your chores and lessons?"

She hid from view. "Yes."

"Are you lying to me, Luke?"

"Possibly."

He sighed again.

"Do not let your mother see you." the young man road on.

Luca quickly directed Mayla to keep going towards the wide, sequoia structured arena.

ooo

'Gods.' Hiccup thought in haggard relief, clinging on to the underbelly of the creature's harness. 'Well, whatever gets me closer to Toothless. We can't be too far from the Isles.'

The Viking sensed the man pause from on his male riding animal.

"Luca." Emilian spoke with a heart - stopping suddenness.

An affirmative word, and then she half questioned / half answered. "Emil?"

He told her to do something - included the word "Viking" - and then galloped away.

Hiccup heard her sharp gasp and than he knew.

But the not knowing part only made him frustrated and scared.

'Toothless.' His thoughts lingered to his friend.

The dragon wasn't just his partner, he wasn't even just his friend, he was a part Hiccup.

III.

Thick, near strangulating chains were wound around the Night Fury by dark orange shawl - wearing men. They grunted and spoke harshly as the two - story - tall animal stood very still and unmoving. In the wild when a dragon caught you down and had total control, you did not fight it. Death could come quickly and it was considered cowardly anyways to try and resist your fate. If something had you down, you submitted to it. That's what life was. But there was something the dragon was missing; there was something it couldn't recall.

"Tighten it down well." Besnik told them angrily. "We need to get it ready for training."

Training? What was training?

Despite the dragon's searing pain, it could not show weakness. That was even worst then fighting back when you had already lost. In the wild if a dragon knew you were sick, they would not only bully you - they would make you serve under them. Still, the dragon, even as confused and in pain as it was in, could somehow remember a time when it had been in the open air and free. But it knew, even if it did not remember, that whatever situation it'd been in before that it had been enslaved. If only, if only the Night Fury could summon it's memories. 'Please, don't hurt me.' something tightened, stopping some of it's circulation.

'My arms… legs… ouch.'

It's tail was suspended uncomfortably.

'No. Stop.'

It's neck was collared and it started to thrash around in refusal. 'No! No! NO.'

The Night Fury was elevated off the ground, it felt it's big wounds bleed and the rest of it's blood being crushed and prevented from flowing properly. Breaking everything that it had ever been taught, the dragon started fighting. Darkness eventually enveloped it as it kept struggling in vain. The pulling and pushing dug the bounds deeper into the dragon's open flesh and caused itself more agony; But it did not stop. It would never stop fighting to live.

Ever.

To be continued…

~Lavenderpaw~